Event DescriptionThe Return of the “Machinery Question” and the Failed Promise of GlobalizationThe political economists and social critics of 19th century theorized "the machinery question": the rage against machines by unemployed former artisans and alienated workers after the onset of modern capitalism. Two centuries later, rage against the “march of the machine” has returned. Whereas the Luddites in the 19th century English mills attacked machines as tangible instruments of their oppression, information-age revolts rage against the post-Cold War global political and economic order. There is great anxiety and fear among the public that the new economy being shaped by the twin forces of globalization and technological innovation (global production networks, part-time and contingent work, machine learning, computerization, mobile robotics, et cetera) is leading us into an economic future in which most work will be done by machines, a dystopia worse than the one Charlie Chaplin portrayed in the “Modern Times,” an economic marketplace where humans need not apply. In Bill Joy's words, we fear a future “that doesn’t need us.” In this talk, I will investigate whether it is possible to have a fair economic future in the face of gross asymmetries in social relations, political power, and economic opportunities for the marginalized and excluded majority, as several major technological advances revolutionize the world's political economy.